What if Starlight wasn't the only pony to have a friendship lesson in the Crystal Empire? What if this pony didn't go as a pony? It's time for a long overdue reunion between teacher and student

What do you do when your best friend licks your face out of nowhere? You lick back, obviously.

Cover done by IrradiatedPirateBooty.

Thanks to 6-D Pegasus for pre-reading.

Now with a reading done by Lotus Moon.

This story is a sequel to The Gaps in F r i e n d s h i p

For Twilight Sparkle, the world was a very empty place. While her family helped her bear with it, there was only so much they could do for her. Combine that with Crystal Prep's toxic atmosphere, and it was a small miracle that she hadn't done something drastic a long time ago. As the void surrounding the poor girl continued to grow, that possibility became more and more likely. At least, until the day she found a strange black crystal near the remains of Canter Creek Bridge. Twilight's life was now about to make a drastic change, but would it be for the better, or the absolute worst?

To save her dying sister, Apple Bloom will bargain with a cunning elf. She will yell at talking trees. And, see through transforming eyes a queen of forests named Wendy. All in hopes of having her family whole.

Forever.

It will only take her future.

Her body.

Her magic.

But, perhaps...make her into something more...

Pinkie tries to steal Twilight's heart with a kiss and a love note.

Twilight has other plans.

Thanks to Steady Gaze for proofreading.

Cover done by IrradiatedPirateBooty.

Translated into Ukrainian by volkov, available here.

It was nearly one thousand years ago that Opaline Arcana defeated Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Her plan had succeeded, and the three ponykinds were split, their bonds broken. However, the ordeal left Opaline drained of her magic. If she revealed herself too soon, everything would have been for naught. She had a castle, but she couldn't leave.

While she still had her followers, there was one major issue: She is immortal, and they were not. Thus, she was eventually the only one left, and she required an assistant. Unfortunately, enchantments will only get a pony so far, and wild creatures aren't exactly reliable. While a young unicorn mare named Misty Brightdawn would come to her a few years before she would finally get her chance to return to the public eye, there were hundreds of years where very little happened.

However, about sixty of those years are an exception. Those were the years that she found herself with something she never expected.

A companion. A human companion.

Suggested by Wanderer312.

October 26th, 2023 update: This story's going back in the oven. There's some changes I want to make. Details here.

Sunset Shimmer lived a perfect life: an aspiring career as Princess Celestia’s star pupil, a budding romance, and the perfect best friend to discover the wonders of the world that made life worth living.  But under the guise of a new friend Sunset met in her dreams, Nightmare Moon sought to upend everything in the name of vengeance, and the powers that be demanded their pound of flesh.

Years later, long after the dust had settled, Sunset found her home beyond the portal. Life was good, if a little strange.  But when Princess Luna comes seeking to quell the nightmares of a past that still haunt her, those nightmares rapidly spiral out of control, and Sunset is faced with the impossible decision of allying herself with the very individual who had destroyed her life.

With little choice, they strike a tentative partnership, and as past and present converge to threaten all that Sunset holds dear, she is left standing at the precarious ledge of a question that may very well have no answer:

Is there a limit to forgiveness?

[Non-con] tag for story elements, not on-page events.
Edited by RBDash47.
Cover art by Ventious.
Chapter header art by Smeows_isgood.

Since graduating from Canterlot High, Twilight Sparkle has started dating her formed vice-principal, Luna. Though they've been close now, they want to eventually take things to the next level. But for now, a lovely date at the beach will be fun for the two.

This is part of my 1K Challenge
Everyone is 18+ years old.

Fluttershy has been keeping a secret from everypony she knows. A problem she's tried dealing with on her own, but it's been getting harder. Hearing about a place for ponies with her... condition, she decides to visit to hopefully find somepony to help her before somepony gets hurt.

Of course, things never go as expected, and she finds a familiar creature under any other circumstances she would rather avoid...

This story was written for the New Blood Contest 2023, and I would love feedback from the judges.
I'm also fulfilling the bonus "Include a bug"

The changeling heart icon used in the cover image was found: https://derpibooru.org/images/2381676

I was always different. A failing body and a mind that always felt incompatible. And with my body failing me, I died. Only, I didn't die. Instead, I returned home as the prophecy had foretold a thousand years ago. Where my mind matched my body, and my body matched my mind. But arriving in this new world set into motion an ancient conflict, one which I would be thrown head first into where I would learn who I truly was meant to be.

Please let me know what you think in the comments! Any criticism is greatly appreciated.